Imperial County’s unemployment rate dips to 21 percent

EL CENTRO, Calif. – Imperial County’s unemployment rate came in at 21 percent, that’s according to the California Employment Development Department. The numbers were released Friday.

The decrease is a drop of almost two percent, compared to November 2014’s rate of 22.6 percent. It’s also lower than December 2013’s rate of 22.5 percent.

Imperial County’s labor force for December 2014 was comprised of 81,400 people. Of that number, 64, 300 were employed and 17,100 were not employed. Imperial County’s numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

California’s unemployment rate fell to 7 percent in December, a drop of two-tenths of a percentage point from a month earlier, but the state added few jobs last month.